Michelle – Schurr High School

As a young adult in this generation, it has become difficult to save money. We have been exposed to a society where having the most popular product or item is everything. We are influenced by our peers, celebrities, and big companies that in order to “fit in”, we must buy certain things. As we are about enter the real world, we must learn that saving money is extremely crucial. Saving money can start from collecting coins in a jar to opening an account in the bank. All that birthday and Christmas money can be easily stored away. Every year we receive cash from our family members, especially as we get older, we can either look at this as a shopping spree waiting to happen or saving it for our future needs rather than wants. We must become critical with our money. In saying so, we should put at least one fourth or half of it into savings. Opening a CD account in a local bank would be more beneficial than opening a savings account because it collects interest over time. We need to become more aware of these little things so that we can strive in the future.

Everyone needs to go shopping once in a while, so to save, we should start looking around more often for sales. There may be a certain shirt that you want for a lower price elsewhere. Purchasing items online is also an option because sometimes they cost less. We can even resort to going to a local thrift store, as we may find something better for a lower price. You can find some interesting items there if you were to really look. People may say thrift stores are for the poor, but in reality it is for everyone and we should definitely start expanding our resources. In the back of our heads, we always need to ask ourselves, “Do I really need this or do I just want it?” This can really be our deal breaker because there is a major difference between wanting and needing an item. We don’t necessarily need an iPhone, but we do need healthy food in our body. Instead of spending money on unnecessary items other than the basic necessities, we need to start handling our money more carefully. By building these good habits of saving, we can start a foundation for our future.

Creating a CD account, as I have stated before, is exceptionally important. Simply putting half of your paycheck into this account will give you the advantage over those who choose to spend it all. Just having this extra amount of money saved can help in the long run. College, for instance, is exceedingly expensive. One book costs about one hundred dollars, while the entire tuition is far past that. With that foundation built, we will be able to experience life without having to worry about becoming bankrupt. Overall, saving money can really only benefit us.

In the next five years of my life, I will follow these steps that I have previously explained. I will need to start taking the concept of saving money more seriously so I will be able to buy things when I get older without being restrained due to the amount of money I have. My parents have already opened a savings and CD account for me, so as the years go by, I will continue to put some cash aside to put into those accounts. For every birthday and Christmas, I will be managing how much I can actually spend on items I want. By staying on this path of saving, I know I can secure my future and later my retirement.